Good As New

Strident Slumber

"Y/n! Breakfast is ready," A familiar voice called out to Y/n while they performed a hat trick in front of an audience of stuffed animals that sat on their comfy bed.

They dropped everything that was in their hands, bolting towards the door before turning around and taking one of the stuffed animals off the bed, then hurried down the stairs. Y/n could smell the yummy food and the sound of pans and spatulas clanging together as their parents talked to each other.

But when they got to the kitchen, the smell of sizzling bacon had suddenly disappeared, including the noises from before leaving just an empty and quiet kitchen.

"Mum, Dad?" Y/n called out, running back upstairs to their parent's room only to find out they weren't in there either. Y/n started to look in every room of the house while yelling out for them but got nothing other than the echo of their own voice bouncing off the walls. Y/n stumbled into the living room as another voice that sounded like their mother called out to them. "Y/n, honey come on."

"Mum, where are you?" They asked, glancing around the room until the front door opened, letting an erie creek fill the house. Not liking the sound at all Y/n clung to their stuffed animal tightly. "'We're outside sweetheart," Their mother's voice spoke from the outdoors.

Y/n went out the door without hesitation. "I'm coming, don't go without me!" Y/n yelled, sprinting out the door wanting nothing more than to be with their family.

But Y/n didn't see them anywhere; they weren't on the porch.

Or the lawn.

And their parent's car and motorcycle were nowhere in sight.

Y/n's vision became blurry from tears as they buried their head into their doll. "Mum, Dad, I don't want to play hide n seek anymore." They cried walking off the porch to the sidewalk and looking both ways, but still couldn't find them as their sobs turned into uncontrollable hiccups.

Y/n turned back to their home, hoping to sleep the wired day off so that everything would be back to normal when they woke up.

But their home wasn't there anymore not in one piece that is, the house that was once a lovely place that brought Y/n tons of comfort just by the sight of it, was now a decaying home that looked like it was pulled straight out of a horror film leaving Y/n outside with the uncomfortable silence of the outside world.

Backing away from the broken home, Y/n continued to yell for their parents until they were suddenly in an empty airport. Their stuffed animal was now gone, but too many emotions were spinning around for them to notice at the moment.

Y/n wanted to cover their ears so bad they couldn't explain it, but the silence was so loud to the point it was hurting their poor ears.

Unfortunately, at that moment Y/n couldn't move their arms or even feel them it was like their arms had turned into jello.

Suddenly Y/n's old babysitter appeared, standing beside them patting their head. "Don't worry Y/n, they'll be back before you know it."

Y/n looked forward again; this time instead of an empty hallway they saw their mom and dad from a faraway distance, waving goodbye.

"Goodbye honey, we'll call you every night we promise!"

"It will only be for a week then we'll come right back home scouts honor."

Y/n wanted to run to their parents, give them the biggest hug in the history of big hugs, and say something anything that would make them stay felt like their feet wouldn't move as if they were glued to the floor and everything that they tried to say came out as muffled since Y/n's mouth refused to open.

Y/n continued to struggle until their mum and dad disappeared from their view and everything around them faded into black. Y/n could only cover their ears as the silence became too loud for their ears to bear.

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ

Y/n woke up from their nightmare sitting up and breathing heavily as their chest was beating like a drum.

Once their heart rate had calmed down, they collapsed back on the bed covering a pillow over their head. "I hate that dream." They grumbled, tossing and turning around the bed trying to put themself back to sleep, but it was no use.

Y/n wished they were in their own home right now. Y/n would've jumped in their parent's bed and snuggled between the two it always felt like nothing bad could get them in those moments.

Or on fun nights when their dad was also awake, for whatever reason the both of them would eat a bunch of snacks in the living room while watching TV till they fall asleep on the couch.

But all Y/n could do was the same thing they did every time a bad dream came, lay in bed staring into the dark room with their mind replaying what they had dreamed over and over again till the sun came up, leaving them sleep-deprived for the rest of the day.

but there was one thing that helped them ease their mind at night nowadays but they quickly pushed the thought away. 'No, I'm a big kid now I don't need a doll to feel better anymore.' Y/n argued with themself while pulling on their fur but eventually caved in.

Not wanting to wake anyone in the room, Y/n slowly slid off the bed and reached under it until they felt something soft, pulling it out. Y/n found the same stuffed animal from their dream.

Y/n tucked themself into bed along with the doll that they looked at fondly for a bit before resting their head on its chest and pressing a star-shaped button that was sewn onto one of its paws. "I'll always love you Y/n." Their mother's voice whispered softly out of the doll, making them feel warm and safe.

But it wasn't enough to fall back asleep.